What If?
by The Pale Red Queen
Summary: What if Draco Malfoy was not to walk away amidst the Battle of Hogwarts? For my fellow fangirl, TheFeatherQuill.


Description: What if Draco Malfoy was not to walk away in the heat of the battle of Hogwarts?

**A/N: This is an idea that spontaneously popped into my head after thinking about the most recent movie. This scene occurs in both the novel and the film, when Draco Malfoy leaves in the midst of the battle to join his parents. I decided to write this with a friend of mine, and we took a spin on this part to see what would happen if he did not walk away. Please, bear with us if there are any mistakes in the story, spelling, grammar, etc. This is dedicated to my fellow fanfic author and Harry Potter fanatic, TheFeatherQuill. Enjoy!**

Draco Malfoy sauntered into the courtyard of what was left of Hogwarts. Hesitantly, he kicked some rubble out of the way and joined the rest of the students. Draco's head mulled over the events of the night before; he had just lost his best friend and had no idea where this war would leave him.

Nobody paid him any attention. He couldn't decide whether he enjoyed this; he was relieved at not being shunned but all the same he couldn't help casting a wistful eye at the mass of students together. Dare he join them, or would they suddenly lash out and exclude him?

He decided to keep to the corner, where his presence went unnoticed. Draco looked around him, seeing the look of despair and hopelessness on their faces. Suddenly, their faces lifted up and they began looking at something in the distance. Draco followed their gaze to find to see figures walking towards them. As they neared, Draco took a closer look at who they were. He saw Voldemort, followed by Hagrid and a band of Death Eaters, including his parents. Hagrid was carrying something- no someone- in his arms.

Draco didn't need to wonder long before realizing who it was. Who else's corpse would deserve this guard of honor as the Dark Lord made his entry into the courtyard? He looked down at his arm, where the Dark Mark stood out stark against his pale skin. He looked back at the procession. Supposedly these were his comrades, people who wore identical markings on their arms. But on their faces he could only tell triumph, an emotion of which he felt none. He looked at Hagrid and the body in his arms. His mind flashed back to when not so long ago he was trapped amid a blazing inferno only to be snatched to safety by the one who now lay dead in front of him. Then, he recalled the time back at his home when he did not give away the identity of this same boy. Draco vaguely heard yelling, crying, screaming in the background as the students all realized whose body it was.

"Will Draco Malfoy please step forward?" he heard Voldemort's voice reverberate through his head. Draco looked up to see Voldemort surveying the crowd to find him. Draco shrank into the crowd, hoping that no one would recognise him. "I said," Voldemort said a little louder with a slight edge to his voice, "will Draco Malfoy step forward?"

Draco looked up and saw his parents beckoning. He shifted his gaze to the terrifying Dark Lord whom he knew could see him. Suddenly he realized that Voldemort was not the only one who could see him. Every eye in the courtyard was suddenly on him. A roaring silence hung in the air as they waited to see what he would do.

Draco slowly lifted up his foot. But instead of stepping forward, he turned on his heel and began to walk away. The silence broke as Voldemort began to laugh.

"Draco, my dear Draco," the dark lord said between laughs, "what do you think you are doing? I said to come _towards_ me, not away." Instead of conforming to Voldemort's request, Draco continued to step backwards, giving his master a cold stare. ""Draco," Voldemort allowed frustration to seep into his voice, "come to me."

"No," was all Draco could say. He could feel all the stares boring into to him. Voldemort raised his wand. "I'll give you one last chance."

Draco didn't reach for the wand in his inside pocket. He stood resolutely, facing Voldemort's wand. Funny that he had spent most of his life fearing the transition into the next world, and now he simply stood calmly, waiting for death. He couldn't feel any sort of emotion anymore, save for a vague wondering: why?

The tip of the Elder Wand pointed straight at him. Voldemort started to shout those two deadly words that drive fear into the heart of every wizard.

The words never finished as suddenly his wand was knocked out of his hand. Everyone turned towards the source that did so, and as they did, Draco could hear a few gasps. Harry was sprawled on the ground, with his wand pointed directly at Voldemort.

"He's alive?"

"I thought he was dead."

"The boy who lived."

Murmurs ran through the crowd as everyone looked up at Harry in amazement. Although Harry's wand was trained on Voldemort, his gaze was fixed on Draco. Draco then reached for his wand and cast a spell at Voldemort, who was unexpectedly hit squarely on his chest. And with that, all hell broke loose.

*19 Years Later*

"So that's little Scorpius," Ron said to Rose. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie."

Harry ignored the ensuing banter between Ron and his wife; instead he approached Draco and his family. "Draco. Good to see you again."

Draco looked around, and seeing who it was, burst into a grin. "Harry! How are you?"

**A/N: There we have it! Sorry to leave this story at a high note.. we just thought this was a good ending. Please review!**


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